The Korean steel industry is troubled by a series of anti-dumping lawsuits filed against its key export items in the North American market.

Korean steelmakers have seldom been intimidated by such conventional trade protection measures in the past, but things may be different this time, as the global market slump is still showing no signs of recovery next year.

In July, a US steel producers’ consortium filed a petition against 10 Korean steelmakers, seeking anti dumping relief on Oil Country Tubular Goods, special purpose steel tubes used for oil drilling.

As of last year, Korean companies exported 98.5% of their OCTGs to the United States and had a 24.2% share in the local market, according to the Korea International Trade Association.

An official with Hyundai Hysco, Korea’s largest OCTG exporter said that “Even if the U.S. Department of Commerce decided to impose dumping duties, it would have little impact on our steel exports.”

The optimism, however, subsided as the actual amount of steel sales to the US fell while Korea’s steel manufacturing capacity continued to rise, despite the sluggish global demands.

Korea’s export of steel products to the US in September fell by 10.2%, compared to the previous year, and this was largely due to the 30.7% decrease of OCTG sales, according to the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency.